(a)
(1) The Public School Insurance Trust Fund shall pay all losses and claims the insured is legally obligated to pay as specified in the contract.
(2) It shall be the duty of the State Insurance Department to coordinate, facilitate, and expedite details in connection with responsibilities outlined in the insurance contract.
(3) The department is hereby granted authority to contract for services with appraisers, adjusters, attorneys, or other professionals needed in order to expedite and facilitate the proper operation of the Public School Motor Vehicle Insurance Program.
(b) The program may require an assignment of rights of recovery to the extent that payment is made under any coverage provided by the program.
(c) If other insurance coverage exists, the program will pay its proportional share of the loss. The program's share shall be the proportion that the program's limits of liability bear to the total of all applicable limits.
(d)
(1) Participating entities shall make payment of premium when demand is made as scheduled in the contract.
(2) Any school district, education service cooperative, or open-enrollment public charter school which does not pay the premium when due shall be charged a rate of interest at five percent (5%) per annum on all payments due and unpaid on the policy issued.
(3) The department may cancel insurance coverage for school districts, education service cooperatives, or open-enrollment public charter schools that fail to pay the premium due within thirty (30) days.
(4) The department shall give thirty (30) days' notice before any cancellation for nonpayment.
(e) The department's rules shall include such items as payment of premium and other pertinent items with reference to the premium rate, but its requirements shall not be more stringent than practices of commercial companies writing similar insurance in Arkansas.